I Weathered the Storm, Literally

This past weekend, my tri-job took me to the lovely island of Manhattan for the 5i50 Nautica NYC Triathlon. I came in still trying to regain my fitness from my AWESOMELY BAD bike crash two months ago. Rather than sit at home and continue to mope about my lost fitness, I figured the best way to get it back would be to toe-the-line with the best and leave it all out on the course!

The week leading up to the race, I had anticipated the weather to be a factor because there were a slew of thunderstorms expected to hit the New York area over race weekend. Sure enough, race morning we were caught waiting in the rain at 6am to get the green light to jump into the “pristine” waters of the Hudson. The onslaught of rain and wind called for a tough, choppy swim and I exited roughly 17th out of the water. I was able to pull back two guys in the ½ mile run up to transition and headed out onto the bike in 15th.

The bike course was out-and-back on the Westside highway - a deceptively tough, rolling course - that met us with a tail-wind on the way down and an unrelenting headwind on the way back. My intention for this race was to really press the bike because that was where this race could be won or lost.

As such, I worked those rollers hard and came into T2 in 13th. There was a group of several riders a few minutes ahead that I was trying to reel in but based on their remarkably similar bike splits, it was thus difficult for me to take-on one or two riders, let alone 4 or 7!! I thought this was a non-draft race! Oh well…

Out onto the run, I was able to reel in a struggling Andrew Yoder and that was unfortunately it for me! My run legs eluded me on this day, which happily shed some light on where my fitness is at in its current state – just a few miles short… I crossed the line in 12th – 1:58:30.

Despite finishing outside of the top 10, and even with CERTAIN variables working against me, I’m not at all discouraged by my first complete race back. Lastly, I’d like to give a BIG shout out to all the New Yorkers who may or may not had even known there was a triathlon going on but nonetheless cheered us on as we ran against traffic in Central Park! Some of the best spectator support I’ve seen in a long time!!

Just a few more races left in 2011 and it will all culminate at the Duathlon World Champs in Gijon, Spain on September 25. But first, an ITU race in Kelowna, BC and then the Nautica Malibu Tri!

Thanks for checking in. Talk soon!

-HH

**I want to express my sincere condolences for the families of the two people who tragically died during the swim of the NYC Tri. This lifestyle we lead is often times precarious and daunting and it is one of the total downfalls of this sport when we lose a fellow triathlete.**

Treasure Hunt at SF ITU!

Hey Everyone!

I arrived in my hometown of San Francisco yesterday evening ready to take on the stacked field at TriCal’s Treasure Island ITU Race. This year it’s part of the USAT Elite Race series – a series of draft legal ITU races with larger-than-normal prize purses.

This will be my first race back since my bike crash back in May. It’s bittersweet, because while I’m elated to get back out there, my fitness isn’t where it was prior to that accident. I missed about 40 days of training and I’ve worked hard as of late to get as much of it back. What I would say, it’s not that I’ve lost too much time in each discipline (probably 2-3 seconds per 100 in the pool and that equivalent in the bike and run), but it’s really about how I feel. The time difference isn’t much but it hurts a lot more! Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to getting those competitive juices flowing again!

This course is unique. It’s situated on Treasure Island (the island in the middle of the Bay Bridge) and it consists of a two lap swim, a 6 lap bike, and a 3 lap run. What’s unique is the bike course. Each lap consists of at least a dozen 90 degree turns on what I consider to be pretty precarious road conditions. The Elite race, due particularly to it being a draft-legal race, tends to see a higher-than-normal number of bike crashes. Whether or not bike crashes happen tomorrow, it’s such a competitive field that there will be enough action going on to satisfy anyone!

If you’re in the bay area and are interested in seeing a fun, competitive race, come out to Treasure Island tomorrow Saturday, July 9 around noon and watch a number of Olympic hopefuls mix it up! Let’s get into it!

Hope to see you out there. Thanks for checking in. Talk soon!

-HH

..And the Zico GoHHGo Giveaway goes to..!

After much deliberation from the GoHHGo panel of hardworking judges.. (they clearly need some Zico)

the winners are, BRANDON and NIKKI!!!

Brandon exclaimed, “Zico Pomberry is the Bomb! I use it after cycling.”

Nikki exclaimed, “Piña Tropicale is my fav. My favorite way to replenish is to throw a bottle in my freezer pre-run or pre-ride so when I’m done, it’s super cold! Living in Arizona, I need all the help I can get to cool down in this crazy summer heat!”

Congratulations!! Please come forward and claim your prize by emailing me your contact info at gohhgo1@gmail.com.

Check back soon for yet another GoHHGo Giveaway!!

Happy tri-ing, talk soon.

-HH

How Do You Zico?

Hey Everyone!

Last month’s inaugural GoHHGo Giveaway received a great amount of participation and we saw LA Tri Clubber, Roy Silver, run away with a brand new pair of Kwicky Blade Lights!!

Let’s keep this party rolling! The June GoHHGo Giveaway is a CASE of the critically acclaimed ZICO CHOCOLATE FLAVORED COCONUT WATER for not one but TWO lucky GoHHGo fans!!! Examiner.com recently exclaimed, chocolate and coconut “a match made in heaven”.

This month, I’ll make it easy for all of you – simply tell me your favorite Zico flavor and how you like to replenish and your name will be entered in the drawing for a case! Like last month, if you become a fan of my page, Henry Hagenbuch Triathlete – GoHHGo, then your name will be entered twice!

Good luck and live the Zico way - naturally powered!!

-HH

3 DNS' and Counting..

Hey Everyone!

Been a little while since my last blog post…I didn’t anticipate the gap between posts to be this great, but I also didn’t anticipate missing three triathlons because of my lingering injuries from my bike crash on May Fifth!

When I went down on my bike going about 25-30mph downhill, my left arm was extended outward and I came down on that shoulder. Immediately after the fall, I knew I had hurt my shoulder and I had a feeling in my upper back as if someone was digging their knuckles into me. Despite some serious pain, a torn-up kit, and a broken aero-bar, I had to ride on for another couple of hilly miles (at every hill, I got off and walked) in order to get to a place where my wife could pick me up. There was no way I would have been able to navigate her to my crash site and there was no way I would have been able to ride home (another 6 miles through Los Angeles?!).

A long story short…I sustained a couple of cracked ribs high-up under my left armpit which sends reverberating shock waves of pain down through my chest any time I use that left side. I also have a badly strained rotator cuff and possibly a few micro-tears. ROAD RASH ANYONE?! Up until last week my training has consisted of a ginger breast stroke, ZERO running, and low-medium effort on the bike trainer. I did ride part of the mountain stage in the Tour of California, which was fine going up because we were averaging probably 7mph, but terrible going back down!!

Due to my fall, I have missed three races in the heart of my season, including my favorite, Escape From Alcatraz. As someone who LOVES a good competition, it has been very difficult to watch these races go by. The unfortunate part about ribs is it takes TIME to heal and nothing else – whether they’re cracked, broken or bruised. I have two races at the end of this month that I’m hoping to be ready for, but as of now, NOT ready at all!

If I learned anything from my experience, it’s that helmets seriously save lives! I broke my helmet in several places that day and had I not been wearing it, I wouldn’t be blogging right now! WEAR YOUR HELMET!

Thanks for checking in and hopefully I’ll see you all out there SOON!

I’ll be posting the June GoHHGo Giveaway in a little while so get excited!!!

-HH

May GoHHGo Giveaway!!

Hey Everyone!

The month of May marks the first month of GoHHGo Giveaways! Each month, my amazing sponsors have agreed to provide swag for my fans! No, I’m not going to just give it away…I’m going to make you work for it! The criteria for obtaining these amazing products will change monthly, as will the products!

One month it may be a pair of Oakley sunglasses, the next it may be a case of Zico Coconut water or even a wetsuit from Xterra?!?! This month we’re going to start things off in a BIG way - K-Swiss has offered to fork over a pair of brand spankin new K-wicky Blade Lights!

But first…answer the following questions about each of my sponsors and email your answers to me at gohhgo1@gmail.com. If you successfully answer the Q’s correctly your name will be put in a raffle to win that swag!! However, if you “LIKE” my fan page on FB, Henry Hagenbuch Triathlete – gohhgo, your name will be added TWICE!! Each question is designed to steer you towards each of my sponsor’s sites. There you will find the answer you seek! If you don’t know their address, you can find it on my sponsor’s page at www.gohhgo.com.

You will have until the end of the month to participate, at which point the winner will be revealed not only on my FB page and website, but also around town sporting his or her new swag!!

Let the games begin! Good Luck!

(1)What year did K-Swiss first introduce their shoes to the world and at what specific sporting event?

(2)If Xterra’s eco-friendly wetsuits aren’t petroleum-based, then what are they?

(3)The amount of potassium found in one Zico beverage is the equivalent to how many regular sports drinks?

(4)Evolution PT is the home of what revolutionary training/rehab tool of mine? Hint: made by Alter G!

(5)NPN’s nutritional products and supplements are what percent pure and pharmaceutical grade?

(6)Who is the original mad scientist (founder) behind Oakley?

(7)With Compex you can (pick one),
(a) Build muscle strength and size
(b) Improve power
(c) Increase endurance
(d) Optimize muscle recovery
(e) All of the above

1st Worlds Team in the Books..!

Hey Everyone,

I know this race recap is long overdue but with all the Bruin Alums in town for the UCLA-USC dual meet, things got pretty hectic! If you’re wondering, the Bruin men marched into SC and came away with a WIN, earmarked by great performances in the throws (as usual), the pole vault (as usual), and the distance events (as usual)!

Now back to the matter at hand. On Saturday, I competed in my first true duathlon at the Duathlon National Championships in Oro Valley, AZ. I placed fifth in the Elite field, fourth American. Team USA takes the top four Elite finishers to Worlds (Spain in September) and I was able to grab the last spot! Couldn’t be happier about that!!

The race began with a 5k run that went out hard for the first mile and settled down into a sub-5 effort for the next mile. By the turn-around just past mile 2, the field had begun to spread out and I found myself trailing four competitors. The last ¼ mile of the 5k was straight up a tsunami-of-a-hill, and that’s where I made my move. From my ol’ running days, my high school coach, Karl Weis (shout out!), always told me to run through the hill because all the other racers were only running to the top. I took that advice to heart and charged up and over that hill into T1, passing every competitor and leading the race out on to the bike!

As mentioned before, the bike course was pretty rolling and by the start of our wave (around 10am) the wind had really begun to pick up. I held my own as best I could and wound up coming into T2 in 6th. Out on to the second run (identical to the first), I worked hard to move back into the top 5 but simply ran out of real estate for the podium. Side note – the tsunami-of-a-hill just about killed me the second time around!

I went out there, worked my butt off and owned my result! I’m really starting to round well into shape for the main part of the season. In two weeks I have 5i50 New Orleans and a few weeks later the best triathlon on the planet – ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ!

On another note, the month of May marks the start of monthly GOHHGO Giveaways!! Each month I’ll be giving away swag from my sponsors to GOHHGO fans. Check the site and my FB page, “Henry Hagenbuch Triathlete – gohhgo”, in the coming days for details!

Happy tri-ing everyone! Talk soon.

-HH